OneTouch 4 Plus product reviews

Having been forewarned by my fellow reviewer I had already downloaded the 48mb file and had it waiting on standby, however I was pretty sure I wouldn't need this as I was going to be installing it on a Vista-based PC which already has the required MS updated files as standard.

So I plugged in the power and happily heard the drive very quietly whirring away, next I plugged in the supplied USB cable (I don't have firewire yet ) into the unit and then plugged it into the PC. After a few minutes of arguing with Vista about finding the device drivers (NB: This is a Windows Vista issue not an issue with the drive itself.) the autorun menu came up and I started to install the Maxtor backup software.

My first task was to test the backup software, so I pressed the button on the front of the drive and voila, up it popped. I decided to opt for the 'Backup My Documents every day at 10pm' option first, so I selected this and let it run. After 3 days I checked and everything was being backed-up perfectly with no issues. So next I decided to try the custom backup. I selected a few folders, set a backup time and left it to it, a week later I checked and once again the backups had run smoothly with no issues.

So as a backup device it works great, but I wanted to try it as an external multimedia storage device too, so I crammed it with music files, video files, and even the extracted contents of a DVD (a non copyright DVD that is) and I let loose. I tested it by playing a large video file while copying data to the drive and it perfomed like a champ.

This drive is an excellent all-rounder and is proof of Maxtor's commitment to quality.

After having experience with what basically amounts to a brain-dead HDD extension lead with a box on the end (eg. these things) I was expecting more of the same, but with a bit of extra -oomph- in that this unit has a choice of USB or Firewire connection, and a button on the front to trigger software... but I wasn't expecting what happened...

Unpacking the box I was impressed at how complete the kit... powerpack, USB cable, Firewire cable, software CD and manual, and of course the drive itself... nothing was left to buy, as you find in some low-quality ranges. An excellent early sign of the high standards Maxtor set for themselves. So, deciding to utilise my fancy new USB hub I selected the USB cable and plugged it all together. -pause- OK... unplug it all, check the plugs, sockets and cables, test the USB port (yup, the pendrive lights up fine), plug it all back together and... ummm... wonder what's going on!

OK, so maybe there's issue with the USB... so I unplugged it all and reconnected it, this time using the Firewire cable... nope... no lights, no activity, but I could just hear the drive spinning inside the case. (So at least it had proved it's quiet). After a few phonecalls to the helpdesk, and some research online I realised the problem lay with...

... my PC and the flakey installation of the ever-popular operating system, WindowsXP.

It seems that unless you are willing to leave your machine open to pointless system updates and potentially flakey patches, you're going to need to contact the helpdesk and get the url for a 48meg download of and updated version of the MSXML files. Failure to do so will cause you to encounter issue of non-action when you plug this drive into your beastie. However, that done, I rebooted and started from scratch...

Drive... on the desk.
Firewire cable... plugged into back of machine and drive.
Power cable... one end in the multiboard and the other in the drive.

Ohhhh! Look! Blinky blue light! Suddenly autoboot options kick in and install the One Touch Backup software... awesome progress! Within a mere few minutes it was all done, with very little interaction from me. (I love that!) Suddenly I had an extra 480+gig of storage space, and the ability to back up my ENTIRE machine, datadrives and all, at the push of a single glowing blue button.

Overall, the problems were eventually tracked down to the system, and not the drive at all, so don't let my penchant for specifics put you off in any way... please take it for what it is, a tale of woe and redemption, or put another way, a description of a problem, and the solution. The drive itself is brilliant, with the accompanying software optional, but advisable. The unit is high on style points, with it's black trim and brushed-aluminium siding. The shape, well, a little brick-ish, but hey, it's got restrictions placed upon it by the sheer nature of the hard-drive itself. Any fancier means bigger, and bigger is bad when it comes to desktop devices. Available in a range of capacities from 250gb to 750gb, there is a device to suit most home or business systems... though I would LOVE to see a 1-terabyte model out soon. -drool-